A.M. NOTES: More on Posey; Pucetas, Beltran reassigned

The Giants have most of their projected starters in the lineup behind Jonathan Sanchez today against the Brewers in Maryvale. Kevin Frandsen is at second base instead of Emmanuel Burriss.

Yesterday was the last split-squad of the spring, so I came to the park expecting a round of cuts today. Coaches met to discuss them after Saturday’s game. Just two this morning: Right-handers Kevin Pucetas and Francis Beltran were reassigned to minor league camp. Apparently, they’ll wait until this afternoon or tomorrow morning to make more moves. (Meal money gets handed out on Tuesdays, which explains why Mondays are usually cut-down days.)

It would make sense that Buster Posey would be among the cuts. He has to start playing with his soon-to-be San Jose teammates in minor league camp. But I’m told Buster might stick around with the big leaguers a little while longer.

There was a whole lot I couldn’t squeeze into today’s story on Posey, so I’ll share the considerable extras here:

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As you probably know, he is learning to call a game for the first time. (Florida State, like most college programs, called pitches from the dugout.) And just like every other area, he is a quick study. As I mentioned earlier this spring, left-hander Jeremy Affeldt has worked with Posey a couple times and has been very impressed with the young catcher.

“The first time he caught me, I wanted to throw a 3-1 curveball and he kept putting down one finger,” Affeldt said. “I’m like, `Nah, nah, it doesn’t work like that up here.’ The second time he caught me, he knew exactly what I was doing. I didn’t shake him once.”

And the third time, it was just plain freaky. Affeldt didn’t have great fastball command. He was in a jam with runners on base. He wanted to throw a 3-2 changeup but he figured Posey wouldn’t call it.

“I hadn’t thrown it that inning. That’s why it was the money pitch,” Affeldt said. “But I thought for sure he’d call something else and I’d have to shake. I didn’t want to shake. Hitters know you don’t shake off to get to a heater. He’d know something offspeed was coming.”

So Affeldt was pleasantly stunned when Posey called for a changeup.

“He pumped his glove once, too, when he called for it,” Affeldt said. “He was convicted with that pitch. He knew it was the right one. I was like, `Wow, this kid’s good.’ ”

Swing and a miss. It was the right pitch.

Affeldt said it can be a chore to work with young catchers because they don’t show enough flexibility in their thinking. When things get hairy, they fall back on the script.

“The scouting report is only a guideline,” Affeldt said. “It might say a hitter can’t get the heater in. OK, whose heater are we talking about? That’s why a catcher has to understand how a guy is pitching and what’s working for him on that day.”

Posey could be a big leaguer right now and keep his head above water. There’s little doubt of that. But it usually takes a catcher 200-300 games in the minors to polish game-calling skills. I’ll bet it doesn’t take Posey that long. When asked about it, he sure didn’t seem intimidated by the challenge.

“All of us are guilty of making it more complicated than it is,” he said. “It’s getting with your pitcher and going with his strengths. You don’t need to make it rocket science.”

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Posey is how he’s carried himself in this camp. In the 12 years I’ve been inhabiting major league clubhouses, I’ve noticed recently that some rookies are making themselves a little too comfortable a little too quickly. “Seen and not heard” was standard advice rookies don’t always follow these days. When I covered the Angels, Adam Kennedy hardly said a word his rookie year. He was from my newspaper’s local area, so I was a little frustrated that I couldn’t get much color or personality out of him all season. But the next spring, he was talkative, friendly, quotable. And then it dawned on me: He wasn’t a rookie anymore. It was OK to talk a little more freely.

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I get the same vibe from Posey, and so does Rich Aurilia, who has seen dozens of young position players come and go. Mostly go.

“It’s evident to everybody here he can hit,” Aurilia said. “We see it in batting practice and the approach he takes in his at-bats. I just like the way he carries himself as a young player and does his work. That goes a long way with veteran guys.”

Said Posey: “I had a pretty good idea what a rookie is supposed to do. Just go about your business and don’t be seen too much.”

If Posey keeps taking care of business, he won’t be out of sight for long.

Andrew Baggarly

Andrew Baggarly has documented the most eventful era in San Francisco Giants baseball history, having covered the team since 2004 for th​ree major media outlets including the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune​. This is his 20th season as a baseball writer.
​Baggarly is the author of the bestselling book, A Band of Misfits: Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants, and the newly published Giant Splash: Bondsian Blasts, World Series Parades and Other Thrilling Moments By the Bay. Baggarly’s other notable life accomplishments include running as the Bratwurst in the Milwaukee Sausage Race and becoming a three-time Jeopardy! champion.